Investigations of Temperament at Three to Seven Years: The Children''s Behavior Questionnaire

This article reviews evidence on the reliability and validity of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ), and presents CBQ data on the structure of temperament in childhood. The CBQ is a caregiver report measure designed to provide a detailed assessment of temperament in children 3 to 7 years of age. Individual differences are assessed on 15 primary temperament characteristics: Positive Anticipation, Smiling/Laughter, High Intensity Pleasure, Activity Level, Impulsivity, Shyness, Discomfort, Fear, Anger/Frustration, Sadness, Soothability, Inhibitory Control, Attentional Focusing, Low Intensity Pleasure, and Perceptual Sensitivity. Factor analyses of CBQ scales reliably recover a three-factor solution indicating three broad dimensions of temperament: Extraversion/Surgency, Negative Affectivity, and Effortful Control. This three-factor solution also appears to be reliably recovered in ratings of children in other cultures (e.g., China and Japan). Evidence for convergent validity derives from confirmation of hypothesized relations between temperament and socialization-relevant traits. In addition, parental agreement on CBQ ratings is substantial. The CBQ scales demonstrate adequate internal consistency, and may be used in studies requiring a highly differentiated yet integrated measure of temperament for children in this age range.     

Embedding the literacy strategy: snapshots of change

This paper considers the government's initiative to change the teaching of literacy in primary schools in England. It draws on evidence from a one‐year ESRC‐funded project that observed teaching in the first year of the NLS and a two‐year follow‐up study that revisited and re‐interviewed several of the teachers from the original study. It proposes that, although substantial changes have been made to the organisation and procedures of literacy teaching, deeper pedagogical change is less obvious in some classrooms. It further argues that for teachers to have the freedom to develop their pedagogy, the climate of coercion and outcome‐led education must change.     

The Australian Science Teacher: A Typology of Teacher–Student Interpersonal Behaviour in Australian Science Classes

This study reports the first development in Australia of science teacher typologies of teacher–student interpersonal behaviour. Students' perceptions of teacher–student interpersonal behaviour were measured using the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI). Earlier work with the QTI in The Netherlands has revealed eight different interpersonal styles, which were later confirmed with an American sample of secondary school teachers. The present study investigated the extent to which typologies found in earlier studies also apply to a sample of Australian secondary school science teachers. Data were first checked to examine whether the eight profiles found in The Netherlands and the USA were also present in the Australian data. A cluster analysis using various clustering methods and procedures was used to determine Australian typologies and compare these with earlier Dutch findings. Results of the cluster analyses were verified by analyses of variance, by plotting QTI scale scores graphically, and by presenting a set of sector graphics to two independent researchers and having them sort these into different profiles as found in the statistical analyses. The resultant typologies and implications for professional development and research are presented.     

Parallels between the reading and spelling deficits of two subgroups of developmental dyslexics

The spelling errors of third graders who fit phonological andsurface profiles of developmental dyslexia were analyzed, alongwith the errors of younger (reading level matched) andchronologically age matched non-dyslexic comparison groups. InStudy 1, errors were analyzed as phonologically constrained,unconstrained, or inaccurate and as either orthographicallyacceptable or unacceptable. Study 2 extended the errorclassification system to nonword spellings. The main finding wasthat different types of dyslexics produced different types oferrors. Both studies found that children produced spelling errorsconsistent with their type of dyslexia. The phonological groupshowed poor knowledge of phoneme-grapheme correspondences,consistent with the existence of a phonological deficit. Thesurface group's spelling error profile differed from thephonological group and closely resembled the younger normalcomparison group. This pattern is consistent with other evidencethat surface dyslexia represents a general delay in acquiringliteracy skills. The studies provide converging evidence, from aspelling task, that developmental dyslexia is a non-homogeneouscategory consisting of at least two major subtypes with distinctetiologies and behavioral sequelae.     

Life trajectories of youth committing to climate activism

This article draws from a study investigating the life trajectories of 17 youth climate activists from 14 countries through semi-structured, life memory interviews using Internet-based methods. The interpretations of the interviews focus on the ways in which participants constructed the meanings and functions of experiences and how they represented the nature of the process of their committing to climate activism. Included in the interpretations are the nature of moments of consciously committing, the role of both concern for nature and for social justice, the dynamic and ceaseless process of committing, and the role of the youth climate movement. The discussion highlights the uniqueness of youth and of climate change in the process of committing. The research contributes to the limited but important literature on the life trajectories of youth climate activists.     

Modifying socially withdrawn behavior: A playground intervention for students with internalizing behaviors

There is little research regarding interventions for children with internalizing behaviors in schools, both within classrooms and in nonclassroom environments. In response to this need, a nonclassroom treatment package, consisting of (a) social skills instruction, (b) mediated self‐management, and (c) a reinforcement system, was implemented to modify the socially withdrawn behavior of 3 elementary students. The effects of this treatment package were evaluated on the school playground—during recess—by recording both the number of communicative acts and the total time spent engaged in appropriate peer play for each target student. All target students showed marked improvement in their playground, social interaction. Future research should be conducted with similar populations, using variations of the described methods in other school settings. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 779–794, 2007.     

Shared thinking: metacognitive modelling in the literacy hour

This paper considers evidence from an ESRC funded study of twenty teachers, teaching the literacy hour. In 170 hours of observation only one instance of a teacher modelling her thinking about reading or writing was recorded: and this was unplanned. It is suggested here that, although there should be opportunities for metacognitive modelling within the literacy hour, teachers find it difficult to use these opportunities. Some ideas about the importance of metacognition are reviewed and an example of metacognitive modelling in shared writing is analysed. It is argued that concern for improved performance may cause more attention to be focused on what is to be achieved rather than how.     

International Counseling Traits: Identifying Counseling Traits Ranked most Important by International Counseling Professionals through Q-Sort Analysis

Research has shown an increase in the study and discussion of international counseling throughout the past decade in the mental health domain. The counseling profession continues to take steps to address the lack of access to and the quality of counseling support throughout the world. A Q-sort methodology was utilized in order to capture an understanding of what might be identified as the most important traits for counselors to consider when counseling in international settings. A uniquely constructed Q-sort model developed from a careful review of the literature resulted in 35 items that were evaluated by 43 participants in two phases of analysis. The results from the Q-sort led to fuller consideration of the 12 counseling traits ranked highest. Three core themes that emerged from the data included: valuing people, personal character, and multicultural intentionality. Discussion about the highest ranked traits and core themes provides consideration of research implications and future studies in international counseling as a whole.     

DETERMINANTS OF RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

As research expenditures have risen and assources of research funding have changed, an increasedemphasis on research performance has developed in U.S.research universities. Although much of the historical debate has centered around the individualattributes of faculty, several recent studies have begunto focus on the effect of program or organizationalfactors as powerful attributes for enhancing suchproductivity. This paper extends the findings of these recentstudies by examining the relationship between academicresearch productivity and institutional factors from themost recent National Research Council data on the nation's research universities and theirprograms in the four broad fields of the biologicalsciences, engineering, the physical sciences andmathematics, and the social and behavioral sciences. Several findings are recommended forinstitutional policymakers.